2/3 Of Employees Rank Health And Wellness Perks Number One

A recent survey by One Medical Group found that two out of three full-time professionals prefer better health and wellness benefits than other types of perks. This means that employers looking to attract and retain the best talent should focus on expanding benefits in health and wellness before investing in other perks. The good news is that employers have lots of room to grow and differentiate themselves from other employers competing for the same human capital because 48% of respondents said they did not think their company was making sufficient investments in their wellness and preventative care. Also, only 25% of respondents said that their company’s health and wellness program is making them healthier.

The survey also revealed another challenge with employee wellness programs. It found that despite 64% of respondents saying they believe that keeping employees healthy should be one of the top goals of a company’s benefits program, only 49% of employees said this was the case at their organization. Nearly 70% believed that the priority was primarily focused on managing costs instead.

This is a common theme from employers and widely recognized by employees. This is why doing wellness for employees, rather than to them, goes a long way towards program success. The Global Wellness Institute’s Future Of Wellness At Work report found that “caring companies” boost worker health and productivity, not wellness programs. Without company leadership taking wellness initiatives seriously by doing it for the right reasons, employees will not see value in the program or think their employer doesn’t really care (they are just offering a wellness program to check the box or lower medical expenses).